Security Council discusses Middle East situation

In daylong debate, Security Council discusses deteriorating
Middle East situation

20 August – Responding to the
escalating tensions in the Middle East, the United Nations
Security Council today held a daylong open debate on the
situation in the region, including the Palestinian question.

The meeting came at the request of Mali and Qatar on
behalf of the States members of the Islamic Group. In a
letter to the Council President, they stressed the need to
consider the deteriorating situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, following
Israel's "unwarranted and illegal seizure" of the Orient
House, its closure of the Palestinian Authority's political
and security offices and other actions.

Addressing the
meeting, in which representatives of over 40 countries took
part, the Permanent Observer of Palestine, Nasser Al-Kidwa,
said the Council must act in response to the dangerous
situation in the Middle East by adopting "the necessary
resolution in order to provide the positive impetus we all
need." He pointed out that since the recent violence began
last September, the Israeli occupation forces had killed 572
Palestinians, many of them children, and had "committed many
atrocities against our people, some of which are undoubtedly
war crimes."

Noting that the origin of the conflict was
the existence of Israeli occupation, he stressed that any
attempt to ignore this or circumvent it, would "only lead to
failure in finding the necessary solution to the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Middle East crises."
The Palestinian Authority condemned bombings in Israel and
all acts against civilians, he added.

Mr. Al-Kidwa
emphasized that the Palestinian side had accepted the report
of the Committee headed by former United States Senator
George Mitchell, while Israel had obstructed the full
implementation of the document's recommendations. He said
the Palestinian side was committed to negotiations based on
Security Council resolutions, taking into consideration the
developments in previous discussions between the two sides,
with the aim of reaching a final agreement on all issues,
including Jerusalem, refugees and the borders. "We call upon
the Israeli side to declare the same commitment," Mr.
Al-Kidwa said. He also expressed hope that the Council would
adopt a draft resolution on the matter.

For his part, the
Permanent Representative of Israel, Ambassador Yehuda
Lancry, said the Palestinians "have no scruples" about
convening a Security Council meeting while Israel endured
orchestrated terrorist attacks, which had killed scores of
people, including many children. "What would any Government
do in the face of ongoing daily acts of terrorism that
spilled blood on the streets and denied its citizens a sense
of security?" he asked. "Obviously, terrorism has become the
Palestinian Authority's preferred way to deal with the peace
process." He said the Security Council and the international
community should send a clear message that terrorism was
unacceptable.

With regard to "alleged violation of
international norms," he stressed that Palestinian suicide
bombings "cannot be regarded as perfectly judicial" and did
not comply with international human rights. Israel's actions
were not only in accord with agreements signed between the
parties, but also with established principles of
international law, including the right to self-defence, he
said.

Reacting to a proposed draft resolution, he rejected
it as "biased and one-sided" in its portrayal of Israel as
the unique source of violence while implicitly absolving the
Palestinians of the killing of 156 Israelis and the injuring
of hundreds more. Israel was ready to start talks once the
terror ended, Ambassador Lancry said. "Let us lay down our
arms and return once more to the process of building the
future based on respect, coexistence, cooperation and
peace," he added. Criticizing the Palestinian side's
approach to the Mitchell Committee report, he called for the
document's full
implementation.

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